Most traditional Portuguese restaurants will have a range of fish on the menu. If you are faced with a list of Portuguese fish and seafood names you don’t understand, here is a translation guide to help you.

Portuguese to English fish translations

Peixe – fish

Atum – tuna

Bacalhau – cod

Besugo – bream

Carapau – mackerel

Cavala – mackerel

Cherne – grouper

Choco – cuttlefish

Dourada – bream

Espadarte – swordfish

Linguado – sole

Lula – squid

Moreia – moray eel

Pargo – snapper / sea bream

Peixe espada – scabbard fish

Pescada – hake

Polvo – 0ctopus

Robalo – sea bass

Safio – Small conger eel

Salmão – salmon

Salmonete – mullet

Sardinha – sardine

Sargo – porgy / sea bream

Tamboril – monkfish

Grilled sardines (sardinhas) are a popular summer dish in Portugal.

English to Portuguese fish translations

Fish – peixe

Bream – dourada

Bream – besugo

Cod – bacalhau

Cuttlefish – choco

Grouper – cherne

Hake – pescada

Mackerel – carapau

Mackerel – cavala

Monkfish – tamboril

Moray eel – moreia

Mullet – salmonete

Octopus – polvo

Porgy / sea bream – sargo

Salmon – salmão

Sardine – sardinha

Sea bass – robalo

Scabbard fish – peixe espada

Small conger eel – safio

Snapper / sea bream – Pargo

Sole – linguado

Squid – lula

Swordfish – espadarte

Tuna – atum

Bacalhau is dried codfish and it forms the basis of several popular and traditional Portuguese fish dishes.

Bruno

Bruno

By the way no English speaker will ever be able to pronounce any word with nh or lh I know that for a fact I tried to make my friends say filho and they will be there till they go red but all the will say it’s filo and say that’s their accent like wise it’s quite hard for us to sound the H in hospital and so on but well we eventually can but the can’t funny enough that Arab speakers find it quit easy to speak Portuguese